It’s clear how relevant Hayek’s warnings remain today. Economic freedom—unlike in the 1980s and ’90s—is in retreat. Faith in “industrial policy” has come to dominate in China, the U.S. and Europe. At the same time, intellectual freedom is under threat as proponents of a woke ideology strive to politicize all of life. Mathematics is now considered “racist” by some, while freedom of speech is under threat. Opponents of economic freedom often oppose intellectual freedom as well.

Hayek’s book presents a second important thesis: The loss of economic freedom precedes the loss of intellectual and political freedom.